The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER combination delivers a playable, but not exceptional, experience in The Medium, a horror title from 2021. The benchmark data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides sufficient headroom for lower-resolution, higher-frame-rate scenarios. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across resolutions and settings, contextualizes the component roles, and ranks this specific build against the broader database of tested combinations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 79.5 FPS at 1080p to 68.8 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 51.2 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35.6% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, which is a significant but not catastrophic loss. The scaling suggests that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the primary limiting factor at 4K, as the workload becomes increasingly pixel-bound.

A more dramatic example of this scaling is visible at Low settings. The average FPS at 1080p is 155.3, which drops to 148.7 at 1440p, and then falls sharply to 117.2 at 4K. The relatively small delta between 1080p and 1440p (only 6.6 FPS) indicates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data at these resolutions, and the GPU can still handle the geometry. However, the 31.5 FPS drop from 1440p to 4K shows where the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the bottleneck, as the fill rate and memory bandwidth are stretched.

The Ultra preset tells a different story. At this setting, the 4K average FPS is just 38.6, which is below the 60 FPS target many players consider smooth. The scaling from 1440p (52.5 FPS) to 4K (38.6 FPS) is a 26.5% performance loss. This indicates that at Ultra, the game's most demanding visual effects—likely including advanced reflections, shadows, and post-processing—are overwhelming the GPU even at the lower resolution. The data suggests that this combo is best suited for High or Medium settings at 1440p, or High settings at 1080p, to maintain a stable frame rate.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its synthetic benchmarks show a strong single-thread score of 951 in 3DMark and 2943 in Cinebench R23, which are relevant for gaming workloads that often rely on a few heavily utilized threads. The multi-threaded scores, such as 20851 in Cinebench R23, indicate robust overall processing power, but the game's performance is not solely dependent on this.

In The Medium, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 155.3 FPS, which is the highest average FPS recorded in the dataset. This suggests that the 8400F is not a limiting factor at this resolution and settings combination. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 6091 and the max-thread score of 6165 show consistent scaling across all cores, which helps maintain frame pacing in scenes with multiple character models and interactive objects. However, the jump from 1080p Low to 4K Low (155.3 to 117.2 FPS) is entirely attributable to the GPU's inability to render frames fast enough, not a CPU constraint.

The processor's 16 MB of shared L3 cache and 83.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth are adequate for the game's data streaming needs. The 8400F sits in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 25064. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, scores 25057, a delta of 0%. This places the 8400F in a competitive position for gaming, though it is not a top-tier processor. The data indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU can push frame rates high, but at higher resolutions, its performance ceiling is irrelevant as the GPU takes over as the bottleneck.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combo can achieve in The Medium?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo reaches 155.3 FPS, which is the highest recorded average in the dataset.

Q: Is this system capable of running the game at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: No, the data shows 38.6 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F has an average benchmark score of 25064, which is virtually identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X's score of 25057, showing a delta of 0%.

Q: What settings are recommended for a 1440p experience?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset yields 68.8 FPS, and Medium yields 95.8 FPS, both of which are playable. Ultra drops to 52.5 FPS, which may not be ideal for all players.

Q: Does the GPU or CPU limit performance at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the CPU can deliver 155.3 FPS, indicating it is not the limiting factor. The GPU is still the primary bottleneck, but the CPU provides enough headroom for high frame rates.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 79.5 at 1080p to 51.2 at 4K, a 35.6% reduction, showing a heavy reliance on GPU scaling.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER ranks 186th out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the top 11% of all systems tested, which is a strong showing. The rank reflects the overall performance balance between the CPU and GPU. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48704, and its closest rival, the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, scores 49071, a delta of -0.7%. This high GPU ranking is the primary driver of the combo's overall position.

The CPU, while not as dominant as the GPU, is still a solid partner. The 8400F's 82nd percentile ranking among CPUs ensures it doesn't hold back the GPU in most scenarios. The rank of 186 suggests that while many other high-end combos exist, this pairing is well-matched for a game like The Medium, which does not appear to have extreme CPU requirements. The data indicates that the combo is more capable than a large majority of systems, but it is not among the absolute top performers, likely due to the CPU's mid-range positioning relative to the GPU's high-end status.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 672.3 GB/s of bandwidth are substantial, but the game's performance at 4K Ultra (38.6 FPS) suggests that memory capacity is not the issue, but rather the sheer compute load. The GPU's boost clock of 2610 MHz and its 8448 shading units provide significant raw power, as evidenced by its 44.10 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck in all scenarios, as increasing resolution consistently reduces frame rates.

At 1080p Low, the GPU can output 155.3 FPS, but this drops to 117.2 FPS at 4K Low, a 24.5% reduction. This is a more moderate scaling than at High settings, indicating that the GPU's memory bandwidth is sufficient for lower-complexity scenes. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs confirms its high-end status. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, has an average score of 49071, which is only 0.7% higher, showing that this GPU is near the top of its class. The GPU's role is clear: it is the primary driver of frame rates, and its performance dictates the playability across all settings and resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's capabilities. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 155.3 FPS, Medium 109.7 FPS, High 79.5 FPS, and Ultra 65.4 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 57.9% performance drop, indicating that the Ultra preset's visual enhancements are computationally expensive. For players seeking high refresh rates, the Low preset is the only viable option, as it is the only one above 144 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates are 148.7 FPS (Low), 95.8 FPS (Medium), 68.8 FPS (High), and 52.5 FPS (Ultra). The Medium preset at 1440p offers a good balance between visual quality and performance, staying above 60 FPS. The High preset is still playable, but Ultra falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The data indicates that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo, with multiple presets offering smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. The Low preset yields 117.2 FPS, which is surprisingly high for 4K, but the Medium preset drops to 74.1 FPS, High to 51.2 FPS, and Ultra to 38.6 FPS. This shows that the GPU can handle 4K at lower settings, but for a consistent 60+ FPS experience, players must stick to Low or Medium. The Ultra preset at 4K is not recommended, as the frame rate is too low for smooth gameplay. The data suggests that the combo is best utilized at 1440p, where it can run High settings well above 60 FPS, or at 1080p for maximum frame rates.